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You're implying this was a bad decision because they didn't realise the power of internet search. In reality, had they accepted google's terms they probably wou
by WilliamEdward 7y ago
You're implying this was a bad decision because they didn't realise the power of internet search. In reality, had they accepted google's terms they probably would have tanked before they could even get it off the ground.
In my eyes this was not a mistake on Excite's part and is only being treated that way because Google happened to become successful after the fact.
- gojomo 7y agoAs I wrote, I agree that a Google acquisition would not have made a difference for Excite. Excite's key mistake was before any Google negotiations: when Excite demoted search to be just one part of a larger strategy – which apparently involved a lot of distracting politics with cable companies – instead of search being the strategy. (Of course, as a high-flying public company needing to report results in 1999, 2000, etc, that potential cable-subscriber revenue sharing – recurring revenue from millions of subscribing households! – must've been very tempting for Excite. The scale & margins ultimately possible with keyword-based, pay-per-click ads were still speculative in 1999. Google Adwords only launched in late 2000, using CPM-impressions pricing, and only added pay-per-click keyword bidding in 2002.)